


Gone Tomorrow

by Orlaith



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode: s07e04 Mr. Frost, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:21:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23370877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orlaith/pseuds/Orlaith
Summary: Toby confessed to the leak, but what if he hadn't actually done it?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Gone Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Richard Schiff is adamant that Toby did not leak the information to Greg Brock, and as I rewatched season 7 with my little sister, I sort of have to agree that CJ seems a lot more guilty in the episodes leading up to Toby's confession than he does. (I know, I know, that's the point, to mislead everyone, but I don't care) Toby is absolutly the friend to fall on the sword so here's my interpretation of what actually happened.

Toby watched Annabeth’s mouth moving as she kept telling him about the shuttle and Greg Brock, but he wasn’t listening anymore. He had to find her. Pushing his chair back and shouldering past Annabeth, Toby moved quickly through the halls of the west wing. As he crossed the lobby, he heard snippets of people’s conversations about the leak, but he didn’t care about their speculations.

Someone said his name, maybe Ed or Larry, but Toby was tunnel visioned. He came to her office, and Margaret was sitting at her desk, watching the TV screen across from her.

“She in there?” Margaret merely nodded, and Toby opened the door, quickly latching it behind him. He barely glanced at CJ as he walked to the other door and locked that one. Finally, he sat on the couch opposite her desk, silently fuming. CJ stubbornly kept writing, working through her paperwork without looking up.

“Can I help you, Toby?”

Toby could barely contain his anger. “Greg Brock printed a story about a military shuttle.” CJ stayed silent, which was probably for the best, because had she flatly denied anything, Toby may have jumped down her throat. “Someone leaked it. Maybe it was NASA, maybe DOD, or maybe it was us, but it doesn’t matter. The president has to send it up now.” CJ finally looked up at him, her eyes dark. “The astronauts will be saved,” Toby bit out his words.

“Well, that’s something isn’t it.”

“Whoever leaked it,” Toby pushed on, “must have known what they were doing was criminal, and a  _ felony _ at that.” CJ opened her mouth, but he was having none of it. “They must have known that not only would they lose their job working for this administration, but they would go to  _ jail _ for God knows how many years.”

“Toby, I-”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Toby quickly stood up and fled from the room. He didn’t want to hear her confirm or deny it. He knew the truth.

CJ had leaked the information to Greg Brock.

xXxXx

Toby should have known earlier, should have seen the signs.

CJ had told him she had seen Brock a few times out of work, and Toby had been fine with that. She wasn’t press secretary anymore, and while it wasn’t ideal, he wasn’t her boss and she was an adult who could make her own bad choices.

And boy could she ever.

Toby knew she was frustrated with the president, but he hadn’t expected anything quite like this. When she had brought him into her office asking about David and the shuttle, he had known he wasn’t supposed to have that information, but it was CJ for God’s sake. Now he wondered if she hadn’t asked for just that reason.

He had been wandering the halls when he heard her yelling in Leo’s office about how the president was wrong and how he had to send the shuttle up, but even then he had hoped it was just heard needing to get that off her chest.

And now she wasn’t sleeping.

Toby remembered years ago when CJ had slipped up in talking to a green reporter and accidentally disclosed the convening of a grand jury. She hadn’t slept that entire week. He couldn’t help but think of that now as she told Charlie how little sleep she’d been getting and her desperate need for caffeine.

CJ was guilty. There was no doubt in his mind.

His subpoena had come this morning, and Toby started running through scenarios in his head. CJ going to jail, the campaign floundering, the president’s agenda grinding to a halt,  _ his _ president, Toby’s one win in thirty plus years of campaigning. This man who he had followed across the country all the way from New Hampshire because he believed in him and knew he could affect real change in the world. All of that, for nothing if this got out.

He had gone to her office on the premise of something else, but eventually he steered the conversation to the leak.

“Hey, I got subpoenaed.”

“Congratulations.” CJ was bustling around her office, clearly trying to avoid eye contact.

“You?”

“Nope. Last one to get a subpoena is a rotten egg.”

Toby’s blood boiled. How dare she be flippant about this. He couldn’t help sniping back. “Last one to get a subpoena is the focus of the investigation.” He waited for her to say something, but she didn’t. “Do you have a lawyer?”

“No, I do not.”

“Get one.”

“I don't need a lawyer if I haven't done anything wrong.”

At that, Toby stood directly in the doorway, blocking her path. He stared at her until she finally looked up at him, and when she did, he could see the fear in her eyes. She knew what she had done, but she couldn’t do anything about it now. His heart lurched. The last thing he wanted was to see CJ in pain, but he still couldn’t believe she would’ve done something so boneheaded moronic as this. His voice was soft when he spoke again.

“CJ…” He could swear he saw tears welling in the corners of her eyes, but her voice was steady.

“I’m sorry, Toby. I just don’t have time for this right now.”

Toby nodded, eyes following her as she walked to one of just a dozen world altering meetings that day.

xXxXx

The door to the Oval Office closed behind him, and Toby’s heart was racing.

Leo had been served a subpoena.

If he appeared before Congress, that was it. Hello, President Vinick. Toby shuddered to think what a Republican White House and Congress would do when they worked together. They would tear apart Toby and this administration had spent the last eight years creating. All the late nights, all the sacrifices, all of the driving themselves into the ground for this president they believed in: gone in a blink.

Toby slammed the door to his office and pulled the blinds as he realized what he had to do. CJ may have confirmed the existence of the shuttle for him, but he could play it off as David. It wasn’t like his brother was there to refute his claims.

Toby was nothing to the people. The communications director was no one on their radar other than “that grouchy man who takes questions from the press sometimes”. His firing would be quickly handled and swept under the rug. Thank you, next scandal please. If he took the fall for CJ, the president’s agenda and the campaign would be safe.

And so would she.

He couldn’t bear to think of what the president would say, but he needed to focus on other things now. It would have to be at the end of the day when almost everyone was gone. He’d catch her before she left. Toby scrubbed his face with his hand and leaned back in his chair, wishing that this could go any other way.

xXxXx

Toby made his way to CJ’s office, his heart heavy and his head spinning. He would do this. He had to. He had to protect the president. CJ almost barreled over him as he walked in. She was pacing around the room, and talking a mile a minute from the moment she saw him.

“Good evening. You would not believe the day I've had. I'd tell you about it if I could talk about it, but a bunch of stuff happened today that I can't talk about so I guess I should stop talking about it.” She walked out of the door and handed Margaret the folder she was carrying. “But the truth is I'm so strung out and wired on caffeine I can't even tell what room I'm in.” Blowing right past him, she latched the door behind her. Slowly he lowered himself into one of the chairs across from her desk.

“CJ-” he started softly.

“Let's open that bottle of champagne you gave me for my birthday,” she said, cutting him off. He felt like she almost knew what he was going to say. “Maybe the alcohol will balance out the caffeine.”

“CJ, the leak…” Her eyes blazed as they made eye contact for a moment before she was turning away again and rummaging through her closet.

“Let's have a toast. One final toast before I leave the White House for my perp walk in leg irons.” She sat opposite him, trying to get the bottle open. Toby could see her hands were shaking. “Here, you open it. I'll put your eye out.”

“CJ-”

“Fine, I'll open it. But just, uh, listen to what I have to say. Leo's in trouble.”

“I know.” The words felt heavy in Toby’s mouth; he wasn’t sure there was much he actually knew anymore.

“You do?”

“Yes.” CJ’s hands stopped moving, but it was like Toby could see her mind moving, chewing over the words in her mouth before she said anything.

“I got a lawyer.” She looked up at him as though she knew what he was going to say. This time Toby could already see the tears about to fall to her cheeks.

“What?” She knew. She had to know.

“I got a lawyer,” he repeated, holding her eyes steadily with his own, and hoping she knew, hoping that she understood what he was doing and why. He watched so many emotions cross her face. For a moment he thought she was going to ask him not to do it, but he watched the self preservation win out in the end. He cleared his throat, steeling himself for what he had to do.

“I did it.”


End file.
